A Tangerine
by NiuNiu
Summary: Family is an important business. So are tangerines. And fine lady bosoms. Uzumako. (This one works, I'm sorry, I had problems updating this!)


GAAAH, sorry I updated this so often! I had lots of problems with updating this fic here, as I was using my flatmate's laptop (mine broke and I get it back next week). So this is finally the link that works!

Enjoy of this short little something! Made for to cheer up my own day.

…...

Mako stared at the figure sitting in distance, near the tip of the long ship's bow. The hunched figure drew a dark frame against the starry sky and if Mako knew something about poems she would have said it had something melancholic sadness. But because Mako didn't know anything about poems, she separated herself from the lively chatting group of the Nudist Beach and headed to take a closer look at the lonely figure.

Ah, like she had expected, it was Sanageyama-senpai. You couldn't miss that mass of hair anywhere.

"It's odd to see you alone, senpai", Mako spoke softly. She was surprised to see the man flinched, seemingly startled by her words. His head turned a bit to a side to take a blind look at her.

"You're always with the rest of the Elite", Mako specified her comment when the man didn't reply to her.

He turned his head away, letting it rest against his hand.

"Yeah, guess I am", he muttered nonchalantly, back showed to Mako. She took a little step closer but staid behind him.

"Hey, I have this tangerine mum found. Wanna share it?"

He repeated his earlier head turn, staying still longer this time. After considering the offer he simply hummed for a reply, returning to gaze the open see. Mako took this little hum as a permission to happily sat next to Sanageyama, pulling the little tangerine out from one of her multiple belt pockets.

"You seem a bit down, senpai", she spoke peeling the fruit in her hold. Sanageyama kept staring into the distance leaning against his palm, legs crossed. He hummed for a reply, like Mako wouldn't even be there.

"Wanna talk about it? Or is it too unmanly?" she questioned him, offering half of the peeled tangerine for Sanageyama. He took it with a short "thanks".

"Did you say your mother found this?"

"Yeah. Don't ask me from where she found it. It's possible there isn't more of these so enjoy it properly, yes."

He gave a small smile from the corner of his mouth for Mako.

"Your mother makes really good croquettes", he complimented, separating one slice of tangerine from the half of the fruit. Mako watched how carefully he handled the fruit. Not like a man who was blind Mako stated for herself.

"Thank you! I'm sure mother will be happy when I tell her you liked her food, senpai", Mako smiled widely and nippled the first bite from her share of the tangerine.

He smiled looking at his hands, putting another tangerine piece in his mouth. Mako kept staring at him and how his lips parted and closed while eating.

Then it hit her. The question which was definitely the right one for this situation.

"Sanageyama-senpai... Does your mother make croquettes?"

He was silent for a few second. "Not really. We have our own chef who cooks".

"Oh wow! I guess that's part of living as a Four Start student!" Mako admired with a loud gasp. She munched rest of her fruit with one go (she loved tangerines too much to eat them piece by piece). She pulled her knees under her chin, hugging her legs.

"...I would be sad if my mum wouldn't cook to me. No, I would starve, I can't cook!"

He snorted shortly, sounding amused, but didn't reply. Just kept eating the fruit carefully, with no rush. Mako had to tear her eyes away from the fruit to prevent her mouth watering (she really did love tangerines).

"...Sanageyama-senpai... What do you think... where's your mum now?" she whispered after a long silence. She was a bit afraid to ask that out loud. "Are you worried for your mother?"

"...For dad and brother, too", Sanageyama replied with a sigh, keeping his composure. Mako hugged her legs thighter, eyebrows frowning.

"I guess I'm one of the rare lucky ones, as my family is here instead of inside those things...", Mako spoke mostly for herself, suddenly feeling guilty for being so lucky. She hadn't really thought about it earlier, but everyone on the ship did have a family. And everyone else except the people in the ship - and some rare tiny groups - had been swallowed by Life Fibers. This meant Sanageyama's family was indeed hunting more people out there as bad evil monsters of fabric.

That's why he had wanted to be alone after they had had dinner together today.

Mako felt even more guilty, even responsible for making Sanageyama-senpai sad. It wasn't her fault, her brains new it, but part of her said "your fault, it was your mother who made the food so take responsibility over your family".

"I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

"... I just am".

He straightened his back and turned to face Mako, who had shrunk into a tiny ball, hugging her legs tightly against her chest.

"But we're going to beat them, beat them all, right?" she whispered with a determined voice.

"That's the plan. Kick them back to where ever hell they came from".

"So, you shouldn't be sad, senpai! We get your family back!" she nearly shouted, bolting up to a standing position. Uzu stared at her mouth half open as she took another jump and pointed her finger towards the starry sky. "There won't be far enough of a corner in the space for them to escape from Mankanshoku's fist!"

He chuckled out loud, showing the final piece of fruit into his mouth, chewing it while smirking. "Are you going to beat them all up yourself?"

"Absolutely not! Sanageyama-senpai needs to help me too! It's your family, they expect you to come there to save them! Besides, I won't promise what happens if I get really furious, I might end up hurting your family in the progress of fight!" she spoke sternly with fiery eyes. Her outburst of temper amused Uzu.

"Alright, I'll help you. Can you pinpoint my family members from the masses of the clothes?"

"No, but I have Guts! Guts is a good boy! Guts saved me, too, with help of Gamagoori-senpai! ...Ah but wait! Wait, aren't Sanageyama-senpai's mentally eye good enough to spot them?"

"It's mental eye", he corrected her.

"But it is good, isn't it?"

"Yes, absolutely. I can see far and near perfectly".

"Then concentrate!" she commanded him suddenly, grabbing Sanageyama from the collar. "Concentrate god dammit, are you a Four Star or not?!"

"What are you talking about you underachiever?!" he shouted back trying to push Mako away from him, but her hold was as hard as iron.

"Where are your family members?!" she shouted shaking Sanageyama fiercely.

He stopped the pushing. His lips parted as he stared at Mankanshoku. Her face was stern and he could feel how her eyes drilled into his soul.

"Can you feel them? Are they alright?"

Ah, he had been an idiot. Why to mourn and swim in a depression, when he could indeed calm down, take a good look around his surroundings and concentrate.

He took a deep inhale in a silence. Mako kept her stern eyes locked on Sanageyama's face. The silence lasted for a few ten seconds until he spoke.

"They are alright. I can feel it. I know I can safe them. Perhaps they have already managed to escape and aren't consumed by those things at all".

"See? Everything is alright and will be alright, yes?" Mako smiled lifting her hands from his collar up to his face. She squeezed his face between her tiny palms. His skin was cool from the night air.

"Yes. Thanks", he smiled back a bit uncomfortably. She replied to his smile with a wide grin, pulling him into a hug against her chest.

"See, see! I told you! I bet Sanageyama-senpai's family is kicking and doing well. Do you have an escape chopper or something? Ooo I bet you do aaa it would be so awesome to ride a chopper once! Chopchopchopchopchopchop says the chopper while it flies on the night sky yay!" She squeezed his head even into a tighter hug. "So, Sanageyama-senpai is now a good senpai and wipes that mope away from his face on this instant!"

His wide palm patted her on the back and she took a look down at his head - which was pressed against her bosom so tightly even Mako understood he would suffocate soon. With an "eep!" she let Uzu go, who backed and inhaled loudly, face red and sweaty.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" he roared with a tottering voice, wiping his face. He was red all the way up to his ears. "More importantly a fine young woman doesn't invite men onto her bosom like that!"

"Eee I was just giving senpai a reassuring hug!" Mako defended herself, finally realizing what had happened. Though Mako didn't mind what other thought of her or her actions, even she was able to feel embarrassment at times like this.

"...It's fine, fine", he mumbled hand over his lips, face turned to his side in order to try to hide his deep blush. It was amusing for Mako to see Uzu so flustered. She had always thought he was always cool and confident.

"Anyway! Let's go ask if mum has more tangerines hid somewhere?" she broke the embarrassed atmosphere. Uzu waved his hand in the air.

"You go ahead. I sit here for a moment and come then".

"Okay!" she chirped and dashed away like nothing.

It was something Uzu had started to like in her. The skill to go from mood to another in a second and live in a moment no matter what had just happened or what was going to happen. Her family seemed the same.

He and his family could learn a lot from Mankanshokus.

A lot.

He would introduce Mankanshoku's family to his own as a family who took care of their son.


End file.
